‘Netflix, the creator of Narcos, starring Robert De Niro’ is such a beautiful sentence I almost wouldn’t believe you if you said it.
Alas, it is indeed true, as Eric Newman, the producer behind Narcos and Narcos: Mexico is producing a limited series.
The show marks only the second time De Niro has starred in a fictional TV show, with him set to lead an all star cast.
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Re-teaming with Netflix six years after The Irishman De Niro is joined in the cast by Jesse Plemons, Angela Bassett, Lizzy Caplan, Dan Stevens, Matthew Modine and Joan Allen.
The show is called Zero Day and sees De Niro playing the president after the world is devastated by a cyber attack.
Per Netflix, here is the synopsis for the show: “Disinformation runs rampant and the personal ambitions of power brokers in technology, Wall Street, and government collide.
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“[De Niro’s Character, George] Mullen’s unwavering search for the truth forces him to confront his own dark secrets while risking all he holds dear.
“Zero Day asks the question on everyone’s mind — how do we find truth in a world in crisis, one seemingly torn apart by forces outside our control?
“In an era rife with conspiracy theory and subterfuge, how many of those forces are of our own making — maybe even our own imagining?”
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One reaction to the show’s announcement simply said: “TV is back”.
Another on Twitter said: “That lineup is like the Avengers of acting talent”.
A third said: “A political thriller with THIS lineup? February can't come soon enough!”
The cast was the focus of much of the reaction, with one fan saying: “Had me at De Niro, reeled me in with Bassett, and stayed for Stevens. This is gonna be good”.
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Regarding his character, Robert De Niro told Vanity Fair: “It was important that he stood for honesty and truth—don’t bullsh*t the public, that’s essential.
“Of course, in this situation, he is questioned—and he is opposed.”
Co-created by Noah Oppenheim and Michael Schmidt in addition to Eric Newman, Oppenheim said the show was written and filmed entirely before Donald Trump won a second term in the White House.
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Noah Oppenheim told Vanity Fair: “I’m obviously disappointed as a Democrat that we didn’t win.
“But as a filmmaker, and as someone who is considering the best window of release for this show, we definitely wanted to get far enough away from the inauguration so that we didn’t get lost in the jet wash of political reportage that’s going to come out.
“There are honest people in government who make hard choices and do the right thing—and my hope is that this will be an aspirational component of our show.”
Zero Day releases on Netflix on 20 February.
Topics: Robert De Niro, Netflix, Donald Trump, TV, TV and Film
Michael Slavin